How colonists began governing themselves: the Mayflower Compact and the House of Burgesses
Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
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Two beginnings, 1619 and 1620. Card A, the Mayflower Compact (November 11, 1620, by the calendar then used; the Mayflower had reached Cape Cod, outside the area its patent covered; 41 men signed and about 102 people were aboard; written for the passengers and the colony; spelling as in an 1841 printing): "…covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic [a group that governs itself], for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet [fitting] and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience." Words in brackets are ours. Card B, a summary in our words from the National Park Service: On July 30, 1619, a representative assembly met in the church at Jamestown, Virginia. Two burgesses (elected representatives) came from each of 11 settlements, 22 in all. The governor and an appointed council sat with them. The Virginia Company in London had to approve the laws they made.
Card A notes the Mayflower landed outside its patent's area. Why did an agreement among the settlers help, Ari asks?
- It gave them agreed rules where the patent gave none
- King James had ordered them to write a compact on landing
- The patent had made them the rulers of Cape Cod, so they recorded it
- They wanted to declare themselves free of England at once
Card A promises 'due submission and obedience.' To what, Bo asks?
- To the laws and offices the signers would make
- To a leader that the ship's captain would later choose
- To a governor who was waiting for the settlers in Virginia
- To the Virginia Company's court, which met in London
Card A says 41 men signed and about 102 people were aboard. What does that show, Esme asks?
- Fewer than half of the people aboard took part in it
- Most of the people aboard signed the compact together
- Each adult aboard was asked to sign and refused
- About half of the people aboard signed it that day
Card B calls the 1619 assembly 'representative.' What makes it so, Jun asks?
- Each settler voted on each law in person at Jamestown
- Settlements sent chosen men to speak for them
- The king sent men to represent his wishes there
- The Company drew names by lot to fill the seats
What limit on the 1619 assembly does card B show, Kira asks?
- The Virginia Company in London had to approve its laws
- It could make laws for Jamestown itself and no other place
- The governor and council were not allowed to sit with it
- It could meet inside the church just once each decade
How do cards A and B differ in who made the laws, Luz asks?
- In both, the Company in London wrote the laws itself, not the colonists
- In A the king's council made the laws; in B the settlers did
- In A the signers made laws; in B burgesses did, with a governor
- In A burgesses were elected by settlers; in B the signers voted together
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Who took part? Four bodies, 1620 to the 1700s (summaries in our words from the National Park Service, the Library of Congress and Massachusetts records). Mayflower Compact (1620): the 41 signers were all men. Virginia assembly (from 1619): burgesses were elected by men of the settlements, and the governor and an appointed council also sat. In 1670 Virginia limited voting to men with property. Massachusetts Bay (1631): the General Court ruled that only church members could become freemen, the men who could vote. Boston town meeting (1700s): usually white men who owned property could attend and vote. None of the four lists women, enslaved Africans or Native peoples as taking part.
Which body added a religious test for voting, Noah asks?
- Massachusetts Bay, in 1631
- Virginia's assembly, in 1670
- Boston's town meeting, in the 1700s
- The Mayflower Compact, in 1620
In 1670 Virginia limited voting to men with property. What happened to participation, Pia asks?
- It stayed the same, because voting had long needed property
- It narrowed, because fewer men could vote
- It grew, because women gained the vote
- It widened, because more men could vote
Boston's town meetings were usually for white men who owned property. Which statement fits, Tala asks?
- Each Boston resident took an equal part in the meetings
- Voting did not take place at town meetings
- Self-government was real but open to few people
- Just the wealthiest merchants were ever allowed in
Which question would best help Zee learn whether people left out had their own ways of governing?
- Who signed the Mayflower Compact in 1620?
- How did Native nations such as the Wampanoag govern?
- In what year did Virginia limit voting to men with property?
- How many burgesses sat in the 1619 assembly?